‘’This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.’’ This is what Charlie Gordon, a 37 year old man with an IQ of 204, says in Daniel Keyes’s short story ‘’Flowers for Algernon’’. Charlie is a mentally impaired man who wants to be smart and is keen to learn. So when an operation that promises to triple his intelligence is offered to Charlie, overjoyed, he accepts. As he grows more and more intelligent, Charlie realizes that his “friends” only keep him around to make fun of him. Soon, Charlie starts to go back to his original state of intelligence and is depressed. In my opinion, it was a mistake for Charlie to receive the operation. Because of it, Charlie is extremely lonely, and has lost both his home and life.

First, Charlie is lonely and stressed. Once Charlie’s intelligence started to increase, he realizes that his ‘’friends” consistently mock him. His co-workers play tricks on him, such as giving him Coke mixed with alcohol. Charlie thought his life would be normal once he became smart, but nothing got better. Once Charlie’s co-workers saw his change in intelligence, they started to fear him. Because of his new IQ, they all signed a petition to fire Charlie. “They’ve driven me out of the factory. Now I’m more alone than ever before.” The operation most certainly did not help Charlie make new friends. Furthermore, once Charlie’s IQ begins to drop, he is unable to pay his property owner and now has no home. As he regresses, Charlie goes without human contact for a long time. He Gong 2

tries to read the books he once loved, but is unable to. Charlie finds that he cannot read German, or any of the other languages he recently studied. When everyone around him begins to pity Charlie because of his regression, he feels annoyed. Unable to deal with everyone’s sympathy, Charlie decides to leave New York. “Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was a genus.” Despite not know what he’ll do for the rest of...

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...Andrew Allen
English 252
Glen Hooks
May 13, 2013
Flowers for Algernon
The famous quote, “Where ignorance is bliss, tis’ folly to be wise” comes from Thomas Gray’s poem “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College”. The meaning of is simply that a person is more comfortable when they do not know something. In the case of Charlie Gordon this is especially true since he knows very little. Charlie has a severe mental handicap, which was brought on by a fever he suffered with as a child, impeding his brain development. As an adult he works as a janitor in a bakery thanks to his uncles help. Through his relationships at his workplace and his other acquaintances we see how different his life is before and after his experimental brain surgery and can judge for ourselves whether ignorance truly is bliss.
At the bakery where Charlie works he interacts with many of his fellow employees who he believes to be his friends. They provide him with a great deal of attention that Charlie processes as friendly, but in reality he is the butt of all of their jokes. Despite the constant ridicule he received from this he kept on smiling and being happy. Outside of work Charley is enrolled in a reading and writing class for retarded adults under the instruction of Alice Kinnian. In the beginning his relationship with Alice is nothing more than that of a student viewing a teacher who in his mind is much older than himself. Through this relationship however he is...

...﻿Flowers for AlgernonFlowers for Algernon, is a science fiction novel written by Daniel Keys.
The story is taking place in the mid 1960’s. The text is representing a diary written by the main character, 37-year-old Charlie Gordon. He is uncommonly unintelligent, which influences his life, especially the social part. Although he is stupid, he has an incredible drive for learning. This desire probably has something to do with his night schoolteacher, Miss Kinnian, who he adores.
He loves his job as a janitor, but his colleagues are laughing at him every day. Lucky for Charlie he is naive enough for believing that they are laughing with him.
Two Doctors, Dr Strauss and Dr. Nemur, are making an experiment, where they will operate the mouse, Algernon, and a human being to test if it is possible to triple their intelligence. For this, they choose Charlie, and of course, he is gladly at their service because now he can learn even more, which is exactly why they wanted him. But of course they also have their own agendas. Dr. Nemur feels pressured by his wife to make a lot of money, and to be very successful. The operation succeeds, and Algernon and Charlie’s intelligence is getting higher and higher. But Charlie discovers some downsides of him suddenly being so smart. He gets fired from his job, and the explanation is seen in this piece at p.8 l.37:
“You used to be a good,...

...is not widely known. There is a situation that withstands today that does set two groups of people apart, and this is widely known in society. Mental illness is not something that can be chosen or changed. Instead of helping the mentally ill conform into society people today make sure that everyone knows that they are “different from us”. Daniel Keyes’ “Flowers for Algernon” stresses the intense ridicule society places on the mentally disabled through the actions of which Charlie Gordon, the protagonist, believes are his “friends”.
Daniel Keyes, born in 1927 in Brooklyn New York, constantly battled an internal conflict over his choice to do what his parents told him, pursuing a career saving lives, or choosing his passion, which was writing. When his first year at NYU was coming to a close finish he thought to himself, “My education is a driving wedge between me and the people I love” (Keyes 1999 Pt. 1, ¶ 36). After later wondering what would happen if it were possible to increase a person’s intelligence, Keyes stored that idea and the ideas of education being a forcing wedge between people to then create “Flowers for Algernon” (Keyes 1999, Pt. 1, ¶ 36). Daniel Keyes was a high school English teacher during the time, grasping inspiring ideas from his students, that led to the the story, that later was turned into a best-selling novel (Werlock).
Keyes had been teaching two Special Modified English for low I.Q...

...Flowers For Algernon
William J. Brennan of the Supreme Court stated, "If there is bedrock
principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that Government may not
prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself
offensive or disagreeable." Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, is
criticized for sexual, religious, and unmoral themes and are the reasons for
opposition. However, these examples do not give reason for banning any
literature, especially when it has an important, underlying lesson of how
wisdom does not make the person but can actually hurt them. Therefore,
Flowers For Algernon should not be banned and should remain in the
curriculum.
One reason of criticism is that of a sexual theme. Solonor.com claims
it has "distasteful love scenes." You do not ban a book for briefly hitting on
a pair making love and carrying out nature. If sex did not occur, then we
would not be in existence. "He would realistically have an interest in sex,"
just as any other human at his age (Small, Jr. 254). Of coarse, Keyes does
devote a few passages to rather tame sexual encounters, but he does nothing
explicit.
Religious themes are also objected. "It has been accused of tampering
with the will of God, of turning men  the doctors, that is  into gods, and of
supernaturalism " (Small, Jr....

...Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a classic science fiction set in southeastern New York, New York City. The fictitious prose traces a man's inner psychological journey within from a world of retardation to a world of great intelligence. Narrated through a series of empirical "Progress Reports", Flowers for Algernon follows the intellectual and emotional rise and fall of Charlie Gordon, a young man born with an unusually low Intelligence Quotient (IQ), as he becomes the first human pilot-study for an ambitious brain experiment. Charlie Gordon lives a life of comical, despondent and derisive experiences as he surfaces from mental darkness, through various phases of perceiving and understanding levels of knowledge into the light of complex perception of himself, the people around him and the world.
The matter that lies in the heart of Flowers for Algernon is the individual turmoil of Charlie Gordon as he struggles to be recognized and treated as a human being and the psychological discord within. Narrator and focal character Charlie Gordon, is a memorable portrait of isolation of an individual who is at odds with society and who strive to have satisfactory relationships with others. Until the age of thirty-two, Charlie has lived in somewhat of a mental twilight. Impressed by Charlie's motivation to learn, psychiatrist and neurosurgeon, Dr. Strauss and his partner Professor Nemur...

...
Flowers for Algernon
In his novel, Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes, tells the story of Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded 32 year old man. An experimental surgery takes him from the darkness of stupidity, into the bright light of intelligence only to force him back into the dark. Enabling him to achieve a state if higher intelligence is thought to be an improvement of Charlie’s life. If it really is for the better becomes uncertain. Before the operation, Charlie’s intelligence and emotions are balanced. After the procedure, they are out of proportion. “There was something in you [Charlie] before… a warmth, an openness, a kindness… with all your intelligence and knowledge, there are differences” (122).As he becomes more knowledgeable Charlie remembers horrific scenes from his childhood. He realizes that in the past he was the laughing stock of his peers. Also, he gains a better insight into the complexity of the world around him. This emotional fallout begs the question whether intelligence and knowledge equal happiness and contentment.
To be intelligent is Charlie’s biggest dream as a retarded person. “…maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart” (1). He hopes that being smart will make him normal, and allow him to make friends and be liked by everyone. He yearns to be an equal to his coworkers. But after the successful operation, the now very intelligent Charlie experiences that having a higher I.Q....

...enhanced he was dumbfounded that his ‘friends’ bullied him. The people closest to him mistreated Charlie Gordon.
This book Flowers for Algernon, is told in first person. During the whole book Charlie Gordon tells the story and he uses ‘I, we, etc.’ For example, “I had a nightmare last night, and this morning, after I woke up, I free-associated the way Dr. Strauss told me to do when I remember my dreams. Think about the dream and just let my mind wonder until other thoughts come up in my mind. I keep on doing that until my mind goes blank.” (35)
A lot of the characters in Flowers for Algernon are really cool. They are all unique in their own ways. The main character is Charlie. He is a 32-year-old man that is mentally disabled. He is my favorite character. Dr. Strauss is a doctor that is trying to help Charlie become an all around smarter human being. Mr. Donner is Charles boss. He is a really good man. He has given Charlie a job sense he was a young adult. He was good friends with Charlie’s dad and promised his dad that he will always take care of him and have a job for him. Gimpy is one of Charlie’s co- workers at the bakery. Neumur is a scientist that is helping Charlie also. Alice Kinnian is Charlie’s teacher at the Beckman college center for retarded adults. Ms. Kinnian is the woman with whom Charlie briefly finds loving fulfillment. Algernon is a white mouse that is the first successful test...

...Flowers for Algernon Summer Reading Book Report
2. Daniel Keys.
3. Novel
4. The setting of the story is New York City, while one chapter takes place in Chicago. There is no text that gives an exact date that the novel takes place but can guess it is around the 1960s, when Keyes wrote the book. The setting does not have a large impact on the book except when Charlie takes Algernon and is forced to hide in the crowded, urban city of New York.
5. The plot of the novel starts off with Charlie Gordon being a thirty-two year old man with mental retardation, is chosen to undergo a scientific surgery designed to boost his IQ. Charlie is recommended to have the surgery by his teacher at Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults, Alice Kinnian, because of his passion and eagerness to learn. Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur, the directors of the procedure, ask Charlie to keep a journal of his emotions and changes as the procedure beings to change him. The entire book is composed of Charlie’s ‘progress reports’ that he writes. Charlie works at Donner’s bakery in New York City as a janitor and delivery boy and is constantly picked on for his mental issues. Charlie is led to believe that his co-workers are his friends and is unable to comprehend that they are taking advantage of him and making fun of him. After Charlie goes through a series of tests with a mouse by the name of Algernon, Charlie undergoes the...